Lore Sheet: Lands of Terra
Background Long ago, the Unknowns created the realm of Terra, land of all mortals and the home of many sentient beings, among many other realms. These realms all co-exist, and frequently contact each other. However, the residence of Terra fear what they do not understand, and as such attempt to be left alone by other realms, making them secluded for most of their history. Terra is home to many races, who have since their creation been forming nations of their own as to keep their species alive. These countries are: Naritheim, home of the Cellan's, an isolationist group of humans who enjoy the practice of magic. Skelgrove, home of the Falmer, or Snow Elves, and the peaceful superpower of Terra. Tomidas Vale, home of the Altmer, or High Elves, who constantly scheme to achieve the total conquest of their realm. Nalors, home of the Dunmer, or Dark Elves, and a current puppet state of Tomidas Vale, Maran, home of the Meshindi, and heartland of Terra, and it's most powerful empire for most of history. Zyel, a place of rebellion in the Meshindi empire which has won it's independence, but has been fighting to keep it from Maran ever since. Velatia, home of Velatians, and a place much akin to a large market. The Kels Rock Isles, a series of isles which are home to the Orismer, more commonly known as Orcs. And finally Odojatan, home of the Weavers, a race unlike any other, appearing human but with four arms and spider like tendencies. Early History Not much is known about the prerecorded history of Terra, though it is widely believed there were two large nations instead of various, one featuring a union of all Mer except Orcs, and one featuring a union of all Man. At this time, it is believed that the Odoj didn't exist, but that they did come in at some point in prerecorded history. Eventually, these two large nations split, most likely due to racial differences. It was at this point that the Dwemer, or Dwarves, who were the head of the Mer nation, took over most of the newly born nations of Terra. This began the First Era. During the time that the Dwemer held control of the world, they entered a renaissance of technology, where the ways of magic were forgotten and technology was vastly improved, with the Dwemer possessing the most advanced technology known to Terra. However, both Man and Mer alike began to despise the Dwemer, who treated them like slaves. Soon, a war broke out between the Dwemer and their subjects, known as the War for Freedom. The war was bloody, but the Dwemer were eventually overwhelmed. At the dawn of the defeat, Etum-Magir, leader of the Dwemer, took his race underground, where they would reside until they eventually faded from history. The defeat of the Dwemer began the Second Era. Age of the Sader Empire The first Emperor of Meshindi was Kyjal Sader, known now as Kyjal the Imperial. He is known as this by history because of his massive assaults upon the other nations of Terra, and his strong regime which eventually united nearly all of Terra under his rule. For the countries that surrendered peacefully to his rule, they were accepted with open arms, with everyone being given free citizenship. However, those who did not surrender faced total war until they submitted. This would involve violent raids, assassinations and slaughtering civilians. His only military failure came when he sent his fleet into the Amilian Sea, in an attempt to seize control of the Kels Rock Isles. However, his navy was ill-equipped and the Orcs stood their ground, until the Imperial forces had to retreat. While Terra was under his rule for his 56 year reign, he introduced the Sader Doctrine, which insured his regime would never treat a certain ethnic group better or worse than another. This was made to prevent a lack of justice, especially for minorities, and insured him being seen as a great ruler and uniter by the majority of his subjects. He is so fondly remembered, even by non-Meshindi's, that some ancient statues of Kyjal still stand to this day, and are heavily guarded heritage sites. Among his other achievements, Kyjal brought back the use of magic, which the Dwemer had discouraged, and was well known for being a mage himself. The beginning of Kyjal's rule is now known as the beginning of the Third Era. The Sader Empire ruled over most of Terra for two millennium, until it began to collapse under it's own weight. However, instead of fighting to keep all it's territory, the Empress of the Sader Empire, Jazimal Sader II allowed many parts of the empire to secede peacefully, including the Skel, Tomidas, Velatia, and Cellan. Jazimal was not, however, prepared to allow the most northeast territory, Keeal, to become independent. This led to a long conflict which eventually ended when Jazimal decided the conflict had gone on for to long, and allowed Keeal to secede as well. The collapse of the Sader Empire is regarded as the end of the Third Era. The Great War The Fourth Era began with a bang. With the newly formed states arrived after the collapse of the Sader Empire, they were all eager to prove who the new superpower of Terra was. A series of conflicts soon broke out that would come to be known The Great War. First began with Tomidas Vale invading the former Sader Empire, now known as Maran. The resulting clash led to the most bloody war in Terra's history. This conflict went on in a continuous stalemate for years, while Skelgrove, to the north, observed. Skelgrove, who was an ally of Naritheim, believed they should intervene, while Naritheim did not wish to be involved in war. Eventually they came to an agreement where Naritheim would send Cellan's to fight in the Falmer army, but not be involved with the conflict. Skelgrove's intervention led to a turning in the war, but not enough to truly end it. Eventually, the conflict was ended by a treaty which gave Maran and Skelgrove some former Tomidas lands, and in exchange Tomidas Vale took over Nelors, the home of the Dunmer. The Dunmer, however, had no say in the treaty, and were taken over by force. At the same time, a bloody civil war had broken out in the Kels Rock Isles, with the revolutionary group, the Jukha, being funded by Tomidas Vale, in an attempt to destroy the current government and institute a puppet government for Tomidas Vale. This resulted in the death of more Orismer than ever before seen in history. However, the Jukha failed, and the government of the Kels Rock Isles, the Burga, remained in power. This would lead to prosperity in the Isles and would lead to peace that lasts to this day. Finally, the oppressed people of Odojatan, the Weavers, led a civil rights movement that eventually led to far more freedom in the Southeast region of Terra. Non-violent demonstrations soon won over the Veltian's and Meshindi in the area, and led them to be seen as more than abominations. This was the first building block of Odojatan becoming a fully independent nation, as it is today. Once this movement was over, the Fifth Era began. The Keeal Wars A few years ago, at the beginning of the Fifth Era, the nation of Keeal had it's government overthrown in a violent coup that was orchestrated by the diabolical Sylvar Flagg. This led to the nation become a destructive dictatorship intent on war with all who opposed them. The first war the new government initiated was against Skelgrove, home of the Snow Elves. This war was extremely one-sided however, as the new government was not prepared to take on a superpower like Skelgrove. However, all Skelgrove did was defeat the invading forces quickly. They did not bother to invade Keeal and allowed them to simply surrender and pretend as though the war did not happen. However, Keeal would soon make the same mistake with the nation of Naritheim. They invaded Naritheim from the north, and this time they would not be shown mercy. Skelgrove was across the Amilian Sea from Keeal, but Naritheim was directly below them, making invasion far easier. The resulting war was devastating on both sides, but it ultimately ended when Arus the Iron, King of Naritheim, entrusted ending the war to the guild of mages known as the Guild of Roth. Italas Orleon soon completely destroyed the country with the spell Wrath of the Soul. This turned the frozen tundra of Keeal into the blistering desert now known as Terra Rixa, a wasteland that only the brave or foolish venture to. Category:Lore Sheets Category:Lands of Terra